BIRMINGHAM, UK: Emboldened and proclaiming victory after a bloody weekend in Virginia, white nationalists are planning more demonstrations to promote their agenda after the violence that left a woman dead and dozens injured.
The University of Florida said white provocateur Richard Spencer, whose appearances sometimes stoke unrest, is seeking permission to speak there next month. White nationalist Preston Wiginton had said he was planning a “White Lives Matter” rally at Texas A&M University in September, but the university later said it has been canceled.
Also, a neo-Confederate group has asked the state of Virginia for permission to rally at a monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond on Sept. 16, and other events are likely.
“We’re going to be more active than ever before,” Matthew Heimbach, a white nationalist leader, said Monday.
James Alex Fields Jr., a young man who was said to idolize Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany in high school, was charged with killing a woman by slamming a car into a group of counter-protesters at a white nationalist rally Sunday in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Fields, 20, who recently moved to Ohio from his home state of Kentucky, was held without bail on murder charges. He was photographed at the rally behind a shield bearing the emblem of the white nationalist Vanguard America, though the group denied he was a member.
Two state troopers also died Sunday when their helicopter crashed during an effort to contain the violence.
The US Justice Department said it will review the violence, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions told ABC the death of counter-protester Heather Heyer, 32, met the definition of domestic terrorism.
White nationalists said they were undaunted.
Heimbach, who said he was pepper-sprayed during the melee in Charlottesville, called the event Saturday “an absolute stunning victory” for the far right because of the large number of supporters who descended on the city to decry plans to remove a statue of Lee.
Hundreds of white nationalists, white supremacists, neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members and others were involved, by some estimates, in what Heimbach, leader of the Traditionalist Workers Party, called the nation’s biggest such event in a decade or more. Even more opponents turned out, and the two sides clashed violently.
A neo-Nazi website that helped promote the gathering said there will be more events soon.
“We are going to start doing this nonstop. Across the country,” said the site, which Internet domain host GoDaddy said it was shutting down after it mocked the woman killed in Charlottesville.
The head of the National Socialist Movement, Jeff Schoep, said Charlottesville was a “really good” white nationalist event that was being overshadowed by the deaths. “Any time someone loses their life it’s unfortunate,” he said.
He blamed the violence on inadequate police protection and counter-demonstrators and said he doubts white nationalists will be deterred from attending more such demonstrations.
Preserving memorials to the Old South has become an animating force for the white nationalist movement, not because all members are Southern, Schoep said, but because adherents see the drive to remove such monuments as part of a larger, anti-white crusade.
“It’s an assault on American freedoms. Today it’s Confederate monuments. Tomorrow it may be the Constitution or the American flag,” Schoep said.
At the University of Florida, where Spencer has asked to speak, President W. Kent Fuchs called the events in Virginia “deplorable” but indicated school officials might be unable to block his appearance.
“While this speaker’s views do not align with our values as an institution, we must follow the law, upholding the First Amendment not to discriminate based on content and provide access to a public space,” Fuchs said in a message on the university’s Facebook page.
Auburn University spent nearly $30,000 in legal fees in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Spencer from speaking on its campus in Alabama in April.
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White nationalists groups plan to be ‘more active than ever’
White nationalists groups plan to be ‘more active than ever’
Myanmar will hold its first general election in 5 years as criticism of the military rule mounts
BANGKOK: Myanmar will hold the first phase of a general election on Sunday, its first vote in five years and an exercise that critics say will neither restore the country’s fragile democracy undone by a 2021 army takeover, nor end a devastating civil war triggered by the nation’s harsh military rule.
The military has framed the polls as a return to multi-party democracy, likely seeking to add a facade of legitimacy to its rule, which began after the army four years ago ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The takeover triggered widespread popular opposition that has grown into a civil war. The fighting has complicated holding the polls in many contested areas.
Voting will be held in different parts of the country in three phases, with the second on Jan. 11 and the third on Jan. 25.
Human rights and opposition groups say the vote will be neither free nor fair and that power is likely to remain in the hands of military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.
Critics doubt a real transition to civilian rule
Richard Horsey, a Myanmar analyst for the International Crisis Group, noted that the vote is being run by the same military that was behind the 2021 coup.
“These elections are not credible at all,” he told The Associated Press. ”They do not include any of the political parties that did well in the last election or the election before.”
Horsey says the military’s strategy is for its favored Union Solidarity and Development Party to win in a landslide, shifting Myanmar from direct military rule to a government with a “civilian veneer” that perpetuates army control.
That would allow the military to claim that holding the election showed progress toward inclusiveness in the spirit of a peace proposal by the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, that calls for “constructive dialogue among all parties concerned” so they can “seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the people.”
It would also provide an excuse for neighbors like China, India and Thailand to continue their support, which they contend promotes stability in Myanmar.
Western nations have maintained sanctions against Myanmar’s ruling generals because of their anti-democratic actions and brutal war on their opponents.
The army seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, claiming the 2020 election — won in a landslide by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy — was illegitimate because of alleged large-scale voter registration irregularities. Independent observers, however, found no major problems.
On Sunday, ballots will be cast in 102 of the country’s 330 townships. Further rounds will follow on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25, leaving 65 townships where there would be no voting because of the ongoing conflict with ethnic guerrilla groups and resistance forces.
Though 57 parties have fielded candidates, most are posting candidates only in their own home states or regions. Six parties are competing nationwide and have a chance of winning enough seats to wield political power, but the rules make it likely the pro-military USDP will emerge in position to lead a new government.
In total, nearly 5,000 candidates are competing for more than 1,100 seats in the two chambers of the national legislature and in state and regional legislatures, though the actual number of seats that will be filled will be less where constituencies are not voting.
The Union Election Commission has yet to release the total number of eligible voters, but in 2020, there were more than 37 million.
Aung San Suu Kyi and her party are not participating
Myanmar’s 80-year-old former leader and her party are not taking part in the election. Suu Kyi is currently serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely seen as bogus and politically motivated. Her National League party was dissolved after refusing to officially register under the new military rules.
Other parties are also boycotting the vote or have declined to run under conditions they say are unfair. Opposition groups have also called for a boycott by voters.
Amael Vier, an analyst for the Asian Network for Free Elections, noted recently that Myanmar’s political parties that won 90 percent of the seats in 2020 no longer exist today.
An Election Protection Law with harsh penalties enacted this year put even more restrictions on political activity, effectively barring all public criticism of the polls. More than 200 people have been charged for leafleting or online activity over the past few months.
All this likely sets the stage for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party to dominate the polls — and for 69-year-old Min Aung Hlaing to take over as president.
Repression and violence continue
The human cost of Myanmar’s conflict has been high. According to the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 22,000 people are currently detained for political offenses and over 7,600 civilians have been killed by security forces since the army seized power.
There are more than 3.6 million internally displaced people, most driven from their homes by warfare, marking a major humanitarian crisis.
“Myanmar is witnessing intensified violence, repression, and intimidation ahead of military-controlled elections,” the UN Human Rights Office said. It added that civilians are being threatened by both military authorities and armed opposition groups regarding participation.
Amnesty International researcher Joe Freeman said that many fear the election will only entrench the power of those responsible for years of unlawful killings.
Horsey, of the International Crisis Group, believes that after the polls, Myanmar is likely to see increased conflict as opponents attempt to prove the military still lacks popular legitimacy.
The military has framed the polls as a return to multi-party democracy, likely seeking to add a facade of legitimacy to its rule, which began after the army four years ago ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The takeover triggered widespread popular opposition that has grown into a civil war. The fighting has complicated holding the polls in many contested areas.
Voting will be held in different parts of the country in three phases, with the second on Jan. 11 and the third on Jan. 25.
Human rights and opposition groups say the vote will be neither free nor fair and that power is likely to remain in the hands of military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.
Critics doubt a real transition to civilian rule
Richard Horsey, a Myanmar analyst for the International Crisis Group, noted that the vote is being run by the same military that was behind the 2021 coup.
“These elections are not credible at all,” he told The Associated Press. ”They do not include any of the political parties that did well in the last election or the election before.”
Horsey says the military’s strategy is for its favored Union Solidarity and Development Party to win in a landslide, shifting Myanmar from direct military rule to a government with a “civilian veneer” that perpetuates army control.
That would allow the military to claim that holding the election showed progress toward inclusiveness in the spirit of a peace proposal by the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, that calls for “constructive dialogue among all parties concerned” so they can “seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the people.”
It would also provide an excuse for neighbors like China, India and Thailand to continue their support, which they contend promotes stability in Myanmar.
Western nations have maintained sanctions against Myanmar’s ruling generals because of their anti-democratic actions and brutal war on their opponents.
The army seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, claiming the 2020 election — won in a landslide by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy — was illegitimate because of alleged large-scale voter registration irregularities. Independent observers, however, found no major problems.
On Sunday, ballots will be cast in 102 of the country’s 330 townships. Further rounds will follow on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25, leaving 65 townships where there would be no voting because of the ongoing conflict with ethnic guerrilla groups and resistance forces.
Though 57 parties have fielded candidates, most are posting candidates only in their own home states or regions. Six parties are competing nationwide and have a chance of winning enough seats to wield political power, but the rules make it likely the pro-military USDP will emerge in position to lead a new government.
In total, nearly 5,000 candidates are competing for more than 1,100 seats in the two chambers of the national legislature and in state and regional legislatures, though the actual number of seats that will be filled will be less where constituencies are not voting.
The Union Election Commission has yet to release the total number of eligible voters, but in 2020, there were more than 37 million.
Aung San Suu Kyi and her party are not participating
Myanmar’s 80-year-old former leader and her party are not taking part in the election. Suu Kyi is currently serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely seen as bogus and politically motivated. Her National League party was dissolved after refusing to officially register under the new military rules.
Other parties are also boycotting the vote or have declined to run under conditions they say are unfair. Opposition groups have also called for a boycott by voters.
Amael Vier, an analyst for the Asian Network for Free Elections, noted recently that Myanmar’s political parties that won 90 percent of the seats in 2020 no longer exist today.
An Election Protection Law with harsh penalties enacted this year put even more restrictions on political activity, effectively barring all public criticism of the polls. More than 200 people have been charged for leafleting or online activity over the past few months.
All this likely sets the stage for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party to dominate the polls — and for 69-year-old Min Aung Hlaing to take over as president.
Repression and violence continue
The human cost of Myanmar’s conflict has been high. According to the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 22,000 people are currently detained for political offenses and over 7,600 civilians have been killed by security forces since the army seized power.
There are more than 3.6 million internally displaced people, most driven from their homes by warfare, marking a major humanitarian crisis.
“Myanmar is witnessing intensified violence, repression, and intimidation ahead of military-controlled elections,” the UN Human Rights Office said. It added that civilians are being threatened by both military authorities and armed opposition groups regarding participation.
Amnesty International researcher Joe Freeman said that many fear the election will only entrench the power of those responsible for years of unlawful killings.
Horsey, of the International Crisis Group, believes that after the polls, Myanmar is likely to see increased conflict as opponents attempt to prove the military still lacks popular legitimacy.
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